“19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to tthe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for ua lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to aa debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”

The Evidence of God

“19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

All men were born with the same basic needs: Food, water, clothing, shelter. And a God! We will all serve something. For most unfortunately it is themselves but we have all heard this. But I ask why is religion such a huge part of our world? In the past every nation that was not connected and had no form of communication had a religious system. Why? Because man has to believe something. Through creation of nature his evidence is made known.

NO ONE IS WITHOUT EXCUSE.

Can anyone think of anything in nature that points to God? Or has anyone seen anything in nature that was just a “wow” moment?

Man’s Rejection

“21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

Where is scripture do we see this? The Fall in Genesis 3:1-7. This is the exact wording God uses in creation. Man, birds, and creeping things.

How did this exchange happen and pay attention to the wording. This act is the start of our depravity.

They did not honor God.

They did not give thanks to him.

They became futile in their thinking.

Their foolish hearts were darkened Note it was foolish before it was darkened.

Claiming wisdom, they became foolish how do we see this in the fall of man?

They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling…, How did this happen?

God’s Response

Paul gives us 3 ways of God’s response to this action.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

How was this seen in Genesis 3?

They dishonored bodies among themselves because they {they were both deceived by the serpent} Avoiding the instructions God had given them. They obeyed that snake rather than God!

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

After the fall depravity grew darker and darker. Ever turned off the light in a room and had the glare still in your eyes. I’d imagine it was similar in the nature of it. They were around Light for so long that once they were in darkness the glare of God’s Glory was still present. As time grew like all things on this new earth, things started to decay. This truly shares the depth of how dark and lost we are with out Christ.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”

Greek word for debased/depraved adokimos- means not standing the test. Commonly used for metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities.

The natural man denies God and can not endure God, therefore they can’t receive God. Even though He has been revealed to him.

Imagine the evil that is in the world, a depraved mind is the source of that. And we are all born with that mind. 2 timothy 4:3 a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Apart from Christ we can not endure the doctrine of scripture.

0: Examine the depravity of man in Romans 1:24-28. With the permission of your parents, : ) look up current events (News). Find an article and write how that article is a picture of God giving men up to ungodliness. This will be turned in next week. I’d encourage you guys to this because this will give you a foundation for viewing the world in a Biblical perspective.

Truly understanding the placement of this verse gives it a special meaning that most overlook. Paul had just finished his greetings to the Roman Church, a group of Christians he had yet to meet. We have discussed some things Paul has informed the reader of like being a bondservant, an apostle, and his care for those that are in Rome. Now he is saying “I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL!”

Nero was the anti-christian leader of Rome at this time. This was important for them to hear. Rome was crowded with philosophy and esteemed teachings of enlightenment drenched in a wickedness that could not have been far off from the evil that doomed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Nero was a true hater of Christ and His followers. He was named “The first persecutor of Christians”, by early Christian writers like Tertullian and Lactantius. Paul is saying He is not ashamed of the Gospel as an introduction point, an instructional point, and a climactic point-meaning he is building a foundation for introducing the power of the GOSPEL!

Why is it important that Christians not be ashamed of the Gospel?

If we are ashamed of the Gospel, we are ashamed of Christ.

A definition of “Ashamed” is regretful. How can we who claim Christ be regretful.

Matthew 10:33 & 2 Timothy 2:12- These verse states the outcome of those who deny Christ.

ILLUSTRATION- If take a piece of white chalk and draw a circle around a goose, it will not leave the circle for fear of crossing the white mark. Another example is, If you go by certain areas of Belton you will see pastures with lots of cattle that do not have fences. But they have small grates for the fence line. Cows will not cross where they can see the bottom.

Like the goose and the cow it seem very foolish to be afraid of a white line or a small ditch with a grate over it but this fear contains these animals with ease. What are some things that make us ashamed of the Gospel?

Personal Example- At work I’m picked on by most of the guys there because of how I responded to two co-workers. Once was I was on break and a guy held up a cell phone and yelled , “Hey look!” I looked just out of reaction and it was a video of a girl in a bathing suit. I knew where it was heading and I turned my head and yelled at the guy, “If you want to cheat on your wife that your business, but I’m not going to sin against God and my wife. You claim Christ but you know nothing of Him!” This was probably 7-8 months ago. The other instance happened earlier this week. A different shoved his phone in front of my face and said, “lookey lookey !” I could just see a picture of a girl in her bathing suit. I grabbed his phone, and told him sternly, “If I have to grab this phone again I’m going to break it.” He saw the seriousness in my face, and tried to ease the awkward tension by laughing it off. I told him, “I wasn’t amused.” He told me I was over reacting. I’ve had talks with this guy before about his faith- He was catholic. I told him he should be ashamed of himself, and asked if I were to insult his wife in public what would he do. He said, “ I would knock the guy out.” I responded, “How can it be an overreaction for me to break your phone for disrespecting my wife, and you get to knock a guy out?” He said ,”God said it’s okay if I look at pictures as long as I don’t actually cheat on my wife. You take this stuff too serious” I responded, “we shall see on judgment day.” Got up and walked away.

For [the Gospel] is the power of God (v.16).

The Gospel of the power of God for Salvation. To first understand how it is used for salvation let us look at what the power of God is.

The Gospel is the power of God.

What are some examples of God’s power seen in the Bible?

Creation

The Flood

Sodom and Gomorrah

His Sovereign nature seen in the life of Joseph

The Plagues of Egypt

Parting the Red Sea

His Presence alone- As seen in the life of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant.

The Gospel- The birth, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 22:29- Jesus responds to the Sadducees by saying you do not understand Scripture nor the power of God. Having a true understanding of the Scriptures, particularly the Gospel, is to also understand the Power of God. To some extent- We can not fully know the power God has other than saying He is All powerful, and even that doesn’t give him enough credit.

When it says the Gospel is the power of God for Salvation. To help understand it – let’s rephrase it- Jesus is the power of God for salvation.

For Salvation (v. 16)

This is the greatest display of God’s power– to reunite sinful man to Himself once again through Jesus.

God came in the form as man, lived the life as a man, died as a man. But He was still God! Jesus was the flesh of God!

His plan is that all might be saved ( 1 timothy 2:4) to those who believe- to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Salvation has no discrimination on nationality, skin color, or social class. Chronologically It was the Jews first because they are his Chosen people through whom he ordained salvation to come. But now that Christ has fulfilled the law, the gentiles are now grafted into the Chosen of God!

ALL WHO BELIEVE MAY BE SAVED. ONLY THOSE WHO TRULY BELIEVE WILL BE. Only those who truly believe were chosen. All who are chosen will be Saved.

For in [the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; because it is written the righteous shall live by faith (v.17).

Let’s play a little word game. Are there any man on their own, other than Christ, that has ever existed that is righteous? NO! Romans 3:10- There is none righteous.

Let’s look at Faith– What role does Faith play in salvation? Faith activates the divine power that brings salvation, and in that sovereign act the righteousness of God is revealed. NOTE: Gen 15:6- Abraham believed and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.

So faith activates the righteousness, but what activates the faith?

Ephesians 2:8- By GRACE you have been SAVED through FAITH!

Hebrew 5:9- Jesus Christ our Lord is the Source of our salvation. Which means- If Salvation only comes by Faith, and Salvation comes from Christ, then Faith comes from Christ. How can that be, that doesn’t make sense? BY GRACE!

It’s purely by grace because you can only come to God and have faith in Him unless the Father draws you John 6:44

So how then is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith? How can the righteous live by faith if there are no righteous people?

ANSWER- DAILY DOUBLE! The Gospel is the power of God for salvation, for in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith because the righteous shall live by faith – this only points to a supreme GOD who has a supreme plan. Because (FOCUS TIME) Applying what we learned earlier- We know that to say the righteous shall live by faith = When faith is placed in Christ that activates the divine power that declares them righteous which brings salvation, which only comes Christ, the original point of Faith. All this is done by Grace, because you can only have faith in Christ unless God allows you to.

If someone claims to be a Christian- then they are a righteous person, if they are a righteous person, they shall live by the faith in which they placed in Christ. If they live by faith they should have a life that looks different than those not of the faith(Non believers)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (v.18).

What does this have to do with the Gospel?

This is the outcome of those who deny the Gospel. The thought of a wrathful God is against the seemingly moral god men create in their minds.

I saw a post by an old friend it said, “Why are so many people afraid of change, when they are so content being caterpillars in their cocoons they are missing out on their wings so they can fly.” I responded- “If the change is unblical the wings can send you straight to hell.” He deleted it, and we are currently talking about the meaning of life and God.

Note the wording- the wrath of God is “revealed”. That is a word of already being there. Like revealing a new car, or revealing the new Samsung 14251xsf plum berry IXO plus. The wrath is there we have seen in revealed in scripture on several occasions.

God’s wrath is awaiting to be revealed on the unrighteous who suppress the truth.

There isn’t anything you have to do to be unrighteous. Being born is enough. But a dead giveaway is if you deny Christ you are unrighteous. Denying Christ is denying the Gospel.

DENYING THE GOSPEL REVEALS THE WRATH OF GOD!

In closing let us take a quick look at The Power of the Gospel.

it saves (v.16)

It reveals the righteousness of God (v.17).

It makes possible a life of faith (v.17).

It delivers from the wrath of God (v.18).

PRO CHALLENGE:

P: PRAY 5 minutes a day. You choose when.

R: READ ROMANS 1

O: OBEY- Examine your life and write out your testimony. Be specific. Then once you write it out. Look over it.

– See if you can see a specific point in time where God opened your eyes to your need for Him.

-Was Jesus a part of it, or was it something else…peer pressure, wanted to impress a girl/boy, seemed like the right thing to do, etc… (THIS IS A CRUCIAL PART!)

-After you became a Christian is there a changed life- This will look different for different people but there should be a change. Obeyed parents more, didn’t stab brothers in the arm anymore, stopped cussing, etc… These are all evidences that the Holy Spirit is done a work in you and is doing a work in you.

-If this exercise is troubling to you meaning: You can’t think of anything, or you realize that you really don’t view Jesus that way. Please message, call, text Jeff, Lisa, myself, Paris, or Sydney.

Reason for writing: Paul was wanting to visit the church in Rome. So in his anticipation he wrote a letter for a theological framework which is the most comprehensive systematic statement of faith.

Themes & Key Words: Greetings ; The Gospel; The Wrath of God ; Judicial Abandonment; No Partiality ; Under the Law ; A Great Advantage ; Under Sin; Righteousness Revealed ; Faith and Works; Blessed; The Righteousness of Faith ; Justified.

Fun Fact: Who was the catholic priest that was teaching through Romans and the Lord saved after he read Romans 1:16? He became one of the most influential theologian starting the reformation….Martin Luther.

BREAKING IT DOWN!

Paul, A Bond-servant of Christ Jesus ,Called as an apostle: his identity

Set apart for the gospel of God : his sacrifice

Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures : his purpose

His Identity:

Paul A Bond-servant of Christ Jesus ,

Called as an apostle.

Bondservant (doulos)- Lit means slave.

Called : chosen as an apostle.

Did Paul choose to be a slave by accepting the call to be an apostle?

Did Paul become a slave because he was chosen to be an apostle?

Reference verse 2 note: PROMISE

TITUS 1:2

GENESIS 9:12-16

His Sacrifice

Set apart for the Gospel of God

What is the Gospel of God? 1 John 5:11-12

Why is Paul is Set Apart?

Why is this important?

How can we apply it to our lives?

Do we apply it to our lives?

His Purpose

Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.

Paul’s purpose was predestined by God.

Ephesians 1:5, 2:8-10

Acts 4:27-28

The PRO CHALLENGE

We’ve looked over 1 John. Are you a Christian?

Paul’s identity was in Christ. It was not a hobby, a facebook status, or a topic we talk about with only a certain group of people. As Christians our identity should be wrapped in Christ.

Become a Romans PRO:

Pray: 2 minute drill. Practice the discipline of prayer. When you get up spend two minutes of prayer with God. When you go to bed spend 2 minutes of prayer.

Read: Read Romans 1

Obey: Being set apart is the key challenge this week. Pick one thing a day to set yourself apart for the gospel of God.

6. “This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies because the spirit is truth.”

3 applications can be made

– Birth- Jesus was a man, and He came by water and blood. At birth- There is a whole lot of water…and a Whole lot of blood. This signifies that Jesus was a man.

– Baptism and The Cross- Gnosticism was around then, and John had addressed them earlier in 1 John 4:1-3. It was a common belief that Gnostics had that Christ came upon the man of Jesus at His baptism and left Him before death on the cross. This attacks Jesus’s Humanity which attacks His supreme role and sacrifice. This is a false teaching.

– The pierced side on the cross: John 19:34. Water and blood came from his side. There are many medical speculations to this. One that I hold to is that the physical death of Christ resulted from rupture of the heart, and that the cavities of the heart and the surrounding-vessels contained a watery fluid. When the lance broke the skin and hit the heart water and blood came out. The significance here is that the payment for our Sins was complete. “IT IS FINISHED!” John 19:30!

My view on this passage: The water signifies Jesus’ Baptism, and the Blood Signifies the Cross. All three points can be interpreted, and all of them can give the text a vibrant outlook on Jesus as Christ! But I feel John was addressing the importance of Jesus’ baptism and death.

The Spirit is the Holy Spirit that Testifies to Christ being a man, a God, and the Sacrifice for our sins.

7-8.”For there are three that Testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

There are three that testify The spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

(His Baptism, the cross) and The Spirit are all in agreement concerning Jesus Christ.

9. “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His son.”

Now we have a fourth testimony: God. He testified concerning His son.

Water

Blood

God- The Spirit

God-The Father

10. “The one who believes in the Son of God has the Testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His son. “

Now we have a fifth testimony.

The water

The blood

The Spirit

The Father

The one who believes in Jesus Christ

Whoever believes in Jesus has the Testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe in God has made Him a liar. It’s a choice given by God. I ask you right now believe! How can you know you believe? Do not be lead astray by the things of this world, by the logic of men, or by the horrible example American Christianity produces.

John 3:18-20.“18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name oftheonly begotten Son of God.19 This is the judgment, thatthe Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, fortheir deeds were evil.20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

What is the testimony?

11-12 “The testimony is this- That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

This whole passage of testimonies leads to this that God has given us eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Believe in Christ and allow the testimony to dwell within you. And because all that testify are in agreement with each other, you will have eternal life because of who Christ is and what He did.

Let’s examine based on all of 1 John where we stand. Answering these questions can confirm whether or not we know God.

-Are you walking in the light, or in the darkness?

-Are you truly abiding in Christ?

– Are you deceived by false teaching?

– Do you Confess that Jesus is Lord?

– Do you love God?

– Do you love others?

– Do you keep His commandments?

-Do you rebuke the sin in your brother’s life?

– Do you abstain from Idols?

A word of warning while answering these questions. Answering No to any of these questions could mean one of two things:

1. You do not know God. You can’t worship and believe in a God you don’t Know.

2. You are a true believer, and either through immaturity or lack of discipline there are some areas in your life that need much attention and prayer.

7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.8 [a]On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

What is the commandment? To love our brother.

It is important to remember you can not love your brother unless you are abiding in Christ!

The Man who hates his brother (9,11)

John introduces the brother that says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother by saying he is in Darkness.

By looking earlier in John’s letter what can we say is true of this man?

Walk in Darkness (1:5,2:9,11)

Blind (2:11)

Liar (1:6, 2:4)

He does not practice the Truth (1:6)

The truth is not in him (2:4)

Deceived (1:8,2:9)

Not walking in the Manner of Christ (2:6)

In terms of eternal security, it’s not looking good for this guy. Now let’s look at the other man mentioned.

The Man who loves his brother (10)

John wrote, “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause of stumbling for him.”

NOTE: Although John wouldn’t disagree with the statement we should love everyone. It’s important to note that he is talking about fellow believers.

Do we love our brother because we abide in the Light or are we able to abide in the Light because we love our brother? Obviously, the love is a fruit of a lasting relationship of Abiding in Christ. We can’t have true love for our brother unless we are truly abiding in Christ.

Popular Icons like the Beatles, Bob Marley, and many more celebrity cling to the saying, “All you need is Love” or “Love is the Answer.” Well this isn’t the conditional self loathing love John is referring to, He is referring to a Holy and pure love.

Matthew 22:39, Jesus commands, “Love your Neighbor as yourself.”

There is no way you can love someone as yourself, unless God is giving you the power to, and the only way to receive that power is to experience a life abiding in Him.

From last weeks lesson, where do we need to turn to see how to abide in Christ? John 15:1-11.

Let’s look at what a man’s life looks like that abides in Christ and is firmly rooted in Him.

The Man who loves the Lord (Psalm 1)

What are some characteristics of this man’s life?

Blessed when he avoids sin and sinful situation. (1-3)

If we are to abide in Christ we can not live a life of sin. We have to live a life separated for God’s Glory. Look at Romans 12:2.

STORY: I share this story with much shame and regret, only with the intention of showing the consequences and damages of carnal decision making as a Christian. But it is a story that brought me to true repentance over an issue I’ve been lazy with my entire Christian life. Recently I was talking to an atheist friend. We have great talks about the Lord and the Bible. Well we got on the topic of movies. Going back and forth naming popular movies we had seen in the past and enjoying a laugh from a few quotes. The movie called, “The Campaign” came up, and I shared with him I actually had to walk out of the movie theater because it was so blasphemous. He then named another movie and it came up, “The wolf of wallsteet.” I had been warned about this movie from a Christian brother but I watched it anyway. He then asked, “Wait! How does that work? You can watch some bad movies but not others?” I just hung my head in shame. I want you to know it still saddens me because a bad choice I made to look like the world completely ruined months of building a Godly reputation.

He delights in God’s Wordon a regular basis.(2)

Emhasis: DAY AND NIGHT. Now Certainly this isn’t a commandment that we must read our Bible every night. But it is a characteristic of someone FIRMLY ROOTED in the LORD!

Like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. (3)

Leaves do not wither (3)

He prospers (3)

Only when he is planted by the streams of water is the main fruitful and strong. A lot of times we do things our of our own efforts and our rivers eventually run dry.

John introduces us to two men. Ask yourself which man are you? Repent if you are the first man and jump in God’s Word.

Remember, we can’t love our brother genuinely like Christ has called us to, unless we are abiding in Him. If we try to love our brother out of our own efforts that love will soon fade with the next passing emotion.

I want to close with this verse:

Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Understanding and believing in what Christ did on the cross is the foundation for knowing him as our Advocate.

Denying or Knowing our Advocate (v.3-4

How does John say we have come to know him? By keeping his commandments.

Who does John call liars in this passage? People who claim they know Christ, but does not keep His commandments.

One popular fear you will encounter as you witness to people is people who claim to know Christ and they will say, “I know I’m saved, but sometimes I still wonder. It’s probably Just Satan trying to discourage me.” You can now say, “You’re right, Satan does attack us, and we have a mighty Advocate, Jesus Christ. But in 1 John 2 it says that if someone doesn’t keep Christ commandments and calls himself a Christian is a liar. It is true, you may be a Christian and Satan is attacking you. However, it could also be true that you aren’t a Christian and the Holy Spirit is giving you that unsettling feeling so you can repent.”

Examine your life. Are you keeping His commandments? Are you denying or knowing Jesus Christ.

Abiding in our Advocate (v.5-6)

We have discussed who the advocate is and how we can tell if we know him or deny him. Now let’s look at what it means to abide in the Advocate for those that know Him.

There are two characteristics of knowing that we are Abiding in the Advocate:

i. Whoever keeps His Word –v. 5

You can’t keep his word unless you know His word. You can’t know His word unless you read His word.

Morality isn’t the same thing as biblical Godliness. There is a preconceived notion that a lot of people have that I’m a moral. And only turn to God’s word unless something bad happens or on Sunday.

ILLUSTRATION: A lot of Christians treat their Bibles like men treat instruction when they put things together. They throw the little white book to the side and at the end of the build there are missing pieces and the stability is far from stable. Then comes the funny part: We blame the company that manufactured the thing. All of it could have been avoided if we would have just read the instructions.

When we don’t read our Bibles, we don’t know how to respond biblical to situations. When we mess things up, we can’t blame God, only ourselves.

We need to cherish His word, read His Word, and live His word.

Bring your Bibles to church.

ii. Walking in the same manner as He walked –v.6

Emphasize on knowing His word!

How can we know we are abiding in Him?

i. John 15:1-11

We bear fruit –v.2

We are pruned –v.3

We give God the glory for our fruit, and realize it is not on our efforts or merit –v.5

Our prayers are answered –v.7

We love one another –v.9

We keep His commandments –v.10

We are joyful -11

Time and time again, we see reoccurring elements about knowing we follow Christ. Keeping His commandments, Love for one another, and bearing fruit. Christ is our advocate. He paid a high price for that title, and He paints a beautiful picture with His life. Let’s not call ourselves Christians and live like the world. Let’s call ourselves Christians and live like the Lord!

5) This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in HIm there is no darkness at all.

6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness we lie and do not practice the truth;

7) but if we walk in the Light as He himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His son cleanses us from all sin.

8) If we say that we have no sin, We are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

Let’s examine what it means to Live in the Light so as to fully understand our responsibility as a Christian..

A) GOD IS LIGHT (v5)

This is the first and primary point we must understand before we can continue.

Imagine for a moment a world without light. Night isn’t that world because Night has light. You can even close your eyes to help but even that isn’t true darkness because of the light that’s in the room. How difficult would it be if all of light ceased to exist. We suddenly start to see how important light is. That is the value God holds, whether you want to believe it or not. Survival would be impossible if it were not for light, just like survival for mankind is imminent death without God. I’m not stating that God is like light, just making an alternate statement. God is light.

A great witnessing point is the power light holds over darkness. It’s a revelation only a believer can fully understand. But it has proved useful in my own life.

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5)

B) Avoid Deception (v 6,8,10)

Because God is light, you can not dwell in the light and in darkness.

There are 3 types of Christians that we commonly see.

1. The Christian that is sold out for Christ. Consistently spends time with the Lord, and focuses on becoming more and more like Christ each day.

2. The Christian that is a non-believer that was fooled. i.e. sinner’s prayer, good person salvation, etc..

3. The Christian that knows their sin, but is to lazy to obey scripture and repent of it.

This is what John is saying. You can not live in the light and darkness. Don’t be deceived.

For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. (John 3:20-21)

John states that those who practice the truth comes to the Light. He doesn’t say perfect the truth then comes to the light.

When we come before the Lord we must realize that there is no hiding.

We can look at the early accounts of man in Genesis 3 that God created man naked. When they sinned their nakedness was revealed and they felt shame. They made for themselves clothes from fig leaves.God knew what they had done, and man’s first instinct was to cover themselves in the Light. God killed an innocent lamb to cover their nakedness. This is beautiful foreshadowing.

Because we live in the Light we can see what the darkness hides. Areas of sin we had no idea existed will be exposed, it’s scary and like Adam and eve, you will feel vulnerable but it’s worth it.

Human nature wants to present itself as having it all together. Not having one flaw. But in verse 10 John writes if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. It isn’t until we come to a level of brokenness that we can say that His word is in us, He is not a Liar, and we have sinned.

(Take note Ephesians 5:13-16)

C) Live in the Light (v7,9)

Even after our regenerated nature, our bodies still sin. How then can we who sin live in the Light?

The only way we can walk in the Light is if our sins are covered with the blood of Jesus by confessing our sins. The moment we try to hide our sins we are no longer living in the Light but are true natives of the Darkness.

Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters…” (Luke 16:13)

In conclusion, Being since GOD is LIGHT, Don’t be deceived, Living in the light requires an act on your part in rejecting the darkness…this may look differently for different people.